Alright, here goes. I think if it was not for this group, I
would not have found out about the concert as early as I did. It would've
taken a longer time for me to realize that ARR was going to be here. Anyway,
thanks to the group, I managed to get my tickets in time and spent a good
amount of money for that.
I was trying my level best to not get carried away daydreaming
and all that, just for the fact that this was going to be on a much smaller
scale than most ARR's concerts. Time just flew by and the day I was waiting
for had finally arrived. Since we were going from Canada, we had to make sure
we got there well in advance.
On the morning of April 15, I could not make myself to sit and
study as I was way too excited to get there. I had not spared anyone who
actually bothered to listen to me going on about the way I was feeling about
going to ARR's concert. Finally, the time had come for us to leave. As
childish as it may sound, I had checked my tickets at least 10 times during
the drive there. I was really anxious considering it was not a full-fledged
ARR concert. Everyone who knew about it wondered out loud whether it was worth
paying all that money just to see some Americans perform ARR's songs. But I
kept telling myself that all that mattered was the fact that ARR himself was
going to be there performing. It is usual for original singers to perform his
songs. If anyone is to visit the message board on miindia.com, you will
probably come across a lot of messages saying it was not worth their money and
what not. And obviously I do not agree with it.
After we got there, we didn't wait around too much. We just
showed our tickets and got in. When we entered the stadium, it was a bit
intimidating 'cos it was still sinking that I was really there. We were shown
to our seats in the 4th row. Oh, just before the concert, there was a
reception where one could get to meet everyone including ARR, but that was 150
dollars per person. Skipped that. The stadium was yet to be filled in with
people. I was just taking in the details of the stage in front of us. I could
see the KORG keyboards that was a sign where Rahman was going to be. And I
could not be happier. He was going to be right in front of me. Time passed and
the stadium was filled up with a lot of people. I truly was not expecting that
many people, considering Ypsilanti is a small city and all. Anyhow, finally it
was time for the show to begin.
The Global Rhythm group entered and took their positions. The
singers were distributed in 3 groups (comprising of atleast 25 people each).
Then there were the string instrument players, the keyboard players and the
percussionists. The President of EMU made an opening speech, praising this
effort and ARR. And then we were told that the music was directed by ARR, and
was going to be conducted by Ethan Sperry. After that one white girl came up
and started, " Sari madushaala pi aaya...". I could not believe what I was
hearing. My instant reaction was 'What in the world?!' And what followed after
shut me up for the rest of the concert. The way these people performed
'Ramta jogi' was mindblowing. The energy levels were skyrocketing. My
eyes were welled up by the time they ended the song. And I remember thinking,
'Tears already? This is just the beginning!'. I managed to get my act together
by the time, Ethan asked us to welcome The Man himself. At this moment, walked
along a man who is admired, adored and loved by millions. He showed up clad in
white cotton clothes. And he got the loudest cheers and a standing ovation.
ARR took the mike and said (paraphrasing) " Can you believe what is happening
on the stage?" A cheer followed. "Neither can I".
It must be mentioned that there were some groups in the
audience who were really loud. I mean I totally understand that everyone was
excited to see him on the stage and everything, but there is something called
a decent behaviour. It was to the extent that someone pointed it out to ARR
and he had to say (paraphrasing) " Please listen to the singers while they are
performing and shower your appreciation and love after the act was done". I
felt ashamed. But I think it silenced people to a certain extent. I am roughly
going to talk about the songs performed in (almost) orderly fashion and my own
opinion of the performance:
Khalbali : Performed by ARR.
Brilliant. Very well sung. I think it was Karaoke.
Yaaro Yarodi : Performed by Vasundhara
Das. The chorus was a few Indian girls from the GR (Global Rhythm). The music
was also performed by GR.
Veerapaandi Kottayilae: Performed by
GR. It was brilliant. I am going to take the liberty to say I don't think that
this song could sound anymore amazing during the chorus. The male part was
sung by all the males in the group and the female part was likewise.
Roobaroo: This was again a great
performance. It must be kept in mind the songs were sung by different singers
from GR and then ARR joined them every now and then. The funniest part of this
song was when they were wrapping up the song and singing "aye saala'' during
which they all pointed towards the audience. Every single time towards the end
of the song, 'aye saala' was towards to audience. Too funny.
Raaga's Dance : Vanessa Mae's one.
Performed by Melissa Reiner (violin),V R Sekar (cello), ARR (keyboard) and
Patrick Hernly (tabla). Brilliant.
Paathshala - Be a Rebel : Performed by
some female GR singers. They even danced to it. Awesome stuff.
Ik onkar - Performed by Vasundhara
Das. Very well sung.
Rang De Basanti - Performed by singers
from GR. The male lead was awesome. And the female counterparts were great as
well. They did complete justice to the masti and energy factor of the song.
Dol Dol (Yuva) - This was one of my
most amazing performance. Performed by GR percussionists. I am a huge
percussions fan and I loved this to bits. The vibes given off by this
performance were unbeatable. Brilliant stuff.
There was a brief intermission after Dol Dol. There were
little incidents that happened during the performance. One was when ARR said
just one word in tamil which I didnt understand. But the people cheered. Then
there again was a lot of noise from the same side of the audience who earlier
were chanting 'Rahman sexy'. This time around Rahman said something in tamil
which I am guessing had to do with him giving these people the mike or
something. And then this was the best part : People were chanting 'We want
Rahman'. And he responded saying, "I am here. Take me". Followed by a loud
cheer and I said something like "I will". (I know it will sound corny. Excuse
me for that)
Once the concert resumed, the GR group had changed their
clothes. The males had their head covered and the females were wearing sarees.
This was a sign something very pious was about to happen. The Mayor of
Ypsilanti took the stage and honoured ARR by giving him the Key to the City (
a medieval tradition symbolising trust, love and faith) ARR gave her a hug,
which was soo sweet of him. There was also a lucky draw where the 2 prizes
were an autogrpahed poster of ARR and tshirts of EMU and Miami University.
Then followed more performances.
Desh - This was an Indian classical
bit performed by GR. Loosely termed it was an aalap. It was the only non-ARR
composition. This was picked up by Kevin Lambert whilst he was in Chennai
working with ARR and then put to chorus by Ethan. It sounded to me as if it
was in Desh raag.
Zikr - A pleasant surprise. The vibes
were awesome. They all sang very well. This also explained the change in
dressing. Then followed a little conversation with the audience which I shall
quote (and paraphrase) from Ganpy Nataraj (already posted in the group) : ARR
quipped towards the end of the act (paraphrasing) "I think I met Ethan 4-5
years back around Christmas and I wished him Merry Christmas. He said, Merry
Christmas to you - I am Jewish" Laughter followed. "When I was composing for
Bose, I explained to Ethan Sufism, Islam and the meaning of the song Zikr.
When he sent me the list of songs that they had picked for this concert, the
first one in the list was Zikr. This is a song that I normally would feel odd
about performing in my own show...because...you know..." He went on to add how
this relationship is important and his wish to go further and music crossing
boundaries, etc. His ending comment (paraphrasing) "If one of these students
here becomes the president (of the USA), the world will be more peaceful..."
Rang De - A dance performance by GR
members. The original song was played. There was a technical glitch when the
song stopped playing for a few seconds but then resumed. Props to all for
being good sports about it.
Then Vasundhara Das came on stage to mention how ARR and every
other classical 'gurus' back in India are trying to preserve our heritage of
Indian Classical Music. She went on to say, how ARR is making an effort to
make sure he reconnects today's youth with their classical
heritage.
Bombay Awakes, Nahin saamne, Ghanan
Ghanan, Mangal Mangal - Instrumentals performed by ARR, Sekar and aalap by
Srinivas Krishnan.
Thee Thee - Performed in tamil by
Vasundhara Das and Indian members of GR.
Shakalaka Baby - Bombay dreams
versions. Karaoke performed by Vasundhara Das and Chorus by singers of GR.
Dil se - Performed by ARR. Chorus by
singers of GR. Needless to say, Awesome!!
Yuva - Performed by GR singers. Again
awesome stuff. ARR pitched in. This was one time I actually thought he was
really jumpy. I loved it.
Classical performance - aalap/ taraana
by Srinivas Krishnan and Patrick Hernly. Awesome.
Chale Chalo - Aah! Gorgeous
performance. It was a live version and every single person on stage was
involved in the performance. Towards the end of the song, where the pace of
the song picks up, that was given shape on the stage by thunderous claps by
the groups on stage. Heavenly.
Vande Mataram - As I had mentioned, no
ARR concert is complete without it. Singers on the stage were swaying their
hands and did complete justice to the song during the chorus. The lead was
done by ARR (of course!) When they began playing and singing this one,
everyone was on their feet. I had tears in my eyes. I have not been able to
decide why exactly there were tears. Whether it was because I was watching ARR
perform 'Vande Mataram' right in front of me or it was because this meant the
concert was coming to an end. Though involuntary, the emotions were high.
The concert ended and people parted. We lingered around for a
bit hoping to catch a glance of The Man, but in vain. In my opinion, this was
worth every single penny that we had spent on it. We thoroughly enjoyed
ourselves. This was truly a completely ARR concert.
This is ARR's dream to bridge people with the power of music.
And what we saw last night was definitely a great beginning. Here is one man
who lives by what he says. And if we call ourselves his fans, I think it makes
complete sense to support him in his dream. Take the energy and love towards
music of ARR and times it by 150. That's how the evening was. ARR was having a
great time. The Global Rhythm group is a highly highly talented group. We all
know how difficult it is to sing even a single ARR song properly. These people
were non- Indians who were so great with his compositions. It is definitely
not a kids' play. Who else has the power to make 150 non- Indians sing in
hindi and tamil? Who else has the capacity to attract all thousands of people?
Music truly has no boundaries. ARR is a living proof of that
and so is his music. I wish I could meet him in person and tell him all this.
But I consider myself lucky for being able to see him twice in less than 2
years and that too in the U.S.
And I am so very much in love with ARR and music all over
again. I truly truly respect this man and I hope he knows what he means to so
many of us.
